The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of Loropetalum chinense variety rubrum Yieh and was discovered as a branch sport of an unnamed variety of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum (unpatented) in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. The varietal denomination of the new variety is xe2x80x98MOSAICxe2x80x99.
The genus Loropetalum is included in the family Hamamelidaceae that comprises about 15 genera of shrubs and trees growing in the northern hemisphere. Loropetalum comprises one (1) species of evergreen shrub or small tree, which possesses desirable ornamental characteristics. Loropetalum was first introduced to Europe as an ornamental plant the 1880s, and is believed to have been cultivated in North America since the early 1930s.
Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum is a native of China, and was first discovered in 1928 in Hunan Province. It was rediscovered in the late 1980s and subsequently introduced to the United States. Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum generally has alternate, ovate leaves to about 6 cm long and about 3 cm wide. The plant is evergreen or partly evergreen depending on winter temperature. Leaf color ranges from light to dark Burgundy, occasionally Green, depending on light intensity, cultural conditions and cultivar. Shoots are slender, Brown, and densely pubescent, pith is solid. Leaves are generally densely pubescent overall.
Flowers of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum are perfect, having 4-strap like petals which are about 2 cm long and about 0.3 cm wide. Three (3) to six (6) flowers are together in each leaf axil. Pedicel and calyx have a White pubescence. Flower color is Pinkish to Reddish Purple depending on the cultivar. Flowering is heaviest in early spring.
The new variety was discovered as a branch sport, and differs from other cultivars known to the inventor by its sectoral Yellow leaf variegation. Asexual reproduction of the new variety by stem cuttings performed in Kawaguchi City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan; and Fulshear, Tex. have confirmed that the distinctive characteristics of the new variety are stable and transmitted to succeeding generations and that the new variety reproduces true to type.
xe2x80x98MOSAICxe2x80x99 is distinguished from its parent and all other varieties of Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum of which I am aware by its sectoral Yellow variegation. In contrast, the parent of xe2x80x98MOSAICxe2x80x99 exhibits solid Purple foliage. Named varieties similar to the parent include Loropetalum chinense var. rubrum xe2x80x98Rubyxe2x80x99 (unpatented), and xe2x80x98Hines Purpleleafxe2x80x99 (unpatented), both of which exhibit solid Purple foliage.